May 15, 2018, FORT WAYNE, INDIANA – Do it Best Corp. celebrates the exclusive industry honors recently bestowed on three of its member-owners by the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA).

The NRHA named Nate Ludwig, general manager of Dazey’s Building Center in Garberville, CA, and Diana Newton, vice president of Bay Hardware in Seal Beach, CA, and Lunada Bay Hardware in Palos Verdes Estates, CA, to its 2018 class of Young Retailers of the Year.

The Young Retailer of the Year awards recognize the individual achievements by industry retailers age 35 and younger throughout the United States, its territories and Canada. Several criteria to select awardees include professional milestones, community engagement, continuing industry education and extracurricular activities. Ludwig and Newton were two of only eight retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada selected for this year’s class.

In addition, the NRHA named Angela Merritt, general manager of Ederer’s Do it Best Hardware with three locations in southern Wisconsin, as one of its 2018 Top Gun honorees. The NRHA’s Top Guns program recognizes next-generation independent entrepreneurs who continue to grow the legacy of their family businesses.

“We’re certainly not surprised to see these outstanding retailers receive industry recognition, and we are honored to have them as part of the Do it Best family,” said Dan Starr, President and CEO of Do it Best Corp. “Nate, Angie and Diana each embody what it means to do it best - and they represent an exciting, vibrant future for our industry.”

Ludwig, Merritt and Newton were all recognized in early May as part of the National Hardware Show and NRHA All-Industry Conference.

In 2014, Ludwig took his years of experience in both retail and the building trades to reopen Dazey’s Building Center. He led a major remodel of the store while adapting it to the changing needs of his rural customer base. Within the first six months, Dazey’s sales were 300 percent higher than with the previous owner. He’s active in giving back to his community, as well.

Newton was just 25 when she took over management of the Seal Beach store. She turned the struggling operation into one voted as the best hardware store in Orange County. In 2013, Newton turned her attention to the Lunada Bay site, leading a 300 percent growth in sales through enhanced service and inventory modernization.

A year out of college, Merritt took on the role of managing Ederer’s Do it Best, an extension of her parents’ dairy

supply store. By leveraging her education in retail management and on-the-job experience, she’s grown the business to three locations in southern Wisconsin. Currently, she’s working with her parents to become an owner-manager of all three stores.

About Do it Best Corp.

Based in Fort Wayne, Ind., Do it Best Corp. is the only U.S.-based, member-owned comprehensive and fully integrated hardware, lumber and building materials buying cooperative in the home improvement industry. With annual sales surpassing $3 billion, Do it Best Corp. is the second largest co-op in the industry, serving thousands of member-owned locations across the United States and in more than 50 other countries. For more information, visit doitbestcorp.com and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.